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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23498722">fingerspitzengefuehl</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>wanderlust [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Falling In Love, Fluff, Inarizaki, M/M, Part of a series but can be read as, Stand Alone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:21:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,748</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23498722</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <cite>(“You’re too soft, Akagi might take advantage of your kindness if you’re not careful”, Aran says. And Kita adds: “You’re spoiling him.” But Akagi smiles at him, and that makes it all worth it. Ren doesn’t mind, really.)</cite>
</p><p>It has been three months since Oomimi Ren entered Inarizaki High School, and slowly but surely, he settles down, and makes new friends. The only unpredictable element is Akagi Michinari – and his constant need for physical affection.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akagi Michinari/Oomimi Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>wanderlust [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1681351</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>fingerspitzengefuehl</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>
  <i>
    <br/>
    <span class="small"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEdPe1SxitI">moon river</a>, oh, dream maker,<br/>you heart breaker<br/>wherever you're goin',<br/>I'm goin' your way</span>
    <br/>
  </i>
</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[2010]</p><p> </p><p><em><span class="u">fingerspitzengefuehl </span> </em> <em>– Lit. “fingertip-feeling”; sensitivity; a talent for empathy in interaction with things and people</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Ren?”</p><p>Somehow, Akagi Michinari finds his way into Oomimi Ren’s field of vision. Hazel eyes stare at him, unblinking.</p><p>A sigh escapes his mouth before he can stop himself. He had been set on giving Akagi the silent treatment after the incident that happened during morning practise. But, as always, Akagi gives him a hard time sticking to his intents.</p><p>They’ve only been teammates for about three months now, but somehow, Akagi always knows a way to overcome Ren’s barriers.</p><p>“Reeeeen …!” Akagi whines, shuffling closer, but not touching him in any way. He’s just close enough that Ren can smell the faint scent of his shower gel.</p><p>Akagi’s hair is still damp.</p><p>He sighs, wishing Akagi would finally start to take care of himself. Sometimes, he’s not sure if Akagi is doing this on purpose or not, but he can’t help it. He has to worry about him.</p><p>Because, everywhere Akagi Michinari goes, he emits chaos.</p><p>And his only <em>slightly</em> concerning kleptomania, that lead to lots of fuss during their first weeks, is only the tip of the ice berg (<em>it’s not like he ever kept any of the things he swiped, he always returns them, but he loves the fuss he creates by doing so. It’s unnerving, to say the least</em>).</p><p>Ren is not sure if the amount of criminal energy Akagi harbours worries him or not. He still vividly remembers how he forgot his keys at home one day, and how Akagi, who accompanied him on his way home, had picked their house’s lock. It was not too bad, considering Ren would’ve been stuck outside for at least another two or three hours if it wasn’t for Akagi. But then again, where on earth did this tiny 16-year old boy learn to pick locks and swipe things without anyone realising?</p><p>Somehow, even despite knowing all of this, Ren feels protective over Akagi. He can’t help it. Something about the smaller boy makes him want to shield him from the world.</p><p>Or … maybe he <em>does</em> know why.</p><p>He just can’t admit it to anyone – or himself for that matter.</p><p>It’s because of <em>this</em> –</p><p>“Ren?”</p><p>Now, Akagi blinks at him. His dark lashes flutter, fanning over his tanned cheeks. Ren watches him. He doesn’t even try to pry his gaze away.</p><p>He knows it’s a battle he can’t win.</p><p>The hot summer sun had dusted the bridge of Akagi’s nose with a faint share of freckles, spreading over his cheeks and his forehead. There are even some on his chin, and one that almost meets his lower lip.</p><p>Akagi blinks again, pouting enough to make his lower lip look plush. It’s appealingly pink, and a little bit wet.</p><p>Ren <em>should</em> look away. He really should.</p><p>(<em>It’s impossible</em>.)</p><p>“What?”, he sighs.</p><p>They’re the last ones in the locker room, Ren staying behind because he isn’t too keen on going home (<em>his aunt is visiting, and he doesn’t like her) </em>and Akagi because he wanted – <em>something</em>.</p><p>“Reeeeen …” Another whine.</p><p>He comes even closer.</p><p>Still not touching him.</p><p>He lowers his head a bit while watching him through his thick, dark lashes.</p><p>Ren’s heart skips a beat.</p><p>He sighs again, but it sounds shaky. He just hopes Akagi doesn’t realise it.</p><p>When he finally lifts his hand and puts it onto Akagi’s head, the dark, damp strands of hair feel silky beneath his fingers. He tries to make the touch casual, but he actually doesn’t know what about this is to be seen as casual, patting the head of a teammate you only knew for some months, now.</p><p>As he fondly ruffles Akagi’s hair and listens to the content purr that builds up in Akagi’s throat, he recalls the incident from morning practise.</p><p>His hand twitches a little. Sometimes, touching Akagi is like trying to pat a stray cat. You can never know if it’s dangerous or not until you try.</p><p>“You shouldn’t have bitten Aran-kun,” Oomimi scolds lightly. “He was bleeding. You should be glad coach didn’t exclude you from club activities for a while. Make sure to apologise properly.”</p><p>“But Ren,” Akagi mewls, melting into his touch, “he tried to pat my head when I wasn’t in the mood! I’ve told him a billion times to <em>not</em> do that, and I was pissed!”</p><p>“You bit him so hard he started to bleed.” To undermine his disapproval, he retreats his hand, even though he … kind of doesn’t <em>want</em> to. But it’s necessary, Ren knows this much.</p><p>Akagi looks up to him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.</p><p>“Why did you stop?!”</p><p>“Because you bit your teammate and fail to realise that this is <em>not</em> okay. Touching someone non-consensually is bad, but so is being violent towards others.”</p><p>Akagi pouts, which gives his fox-like features an even sharper edge.</p><p>“Think about it,” Oomimi advises with finality in his voice. He shuts his locker, turns around and leaves the locker room.</p><p>He does <em>not</em> worry about Akagi catching a cold because of his still-wet hair.</p><p>Absolutely not.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>All in all, Ren has no reason to complain about his teammates. It is the opposite, actually.</p><p>Having tea with Kita Shinsuke is great. Though stern and blunt in nature, he is a good person and always does what he thinks is the right thing to do.</p><p>Ojiro Aran can be a bit hard to handle, sometimes, but they get along quite well and he’s very reliable on court. Ren is sure he will be their ace in the future. He has the skills and the determination to do so.</p><p>The second and third years are skilled as well, and very supportive of their kouhai. Despite being a powerhouse school with a history of attending national tournaments, everyone still works hard and stays level-headed.</p><p>The only unpredictable element is Akagi Michinari.</p><p>Not that Ren, or the others, wouldn’t be able to rely on him, oh no. It’s also not like he is mean, or arrogant, or unapproachable. Maybe it is just Oomimi, and the weird, gut-clenching feeling that overcomes him every time Akagi looks at him.</p><p>Maybe the others don’t even perceive their only 1<sup>st</sup> year libero like this.</p><p>Yes, maybe it’s just him.</p><p>It’s the way Akagi grins when Ren realises his t-shirt is missing, or his fresh pair of socks, or his English textbook –</p><p>(<em>and the note he has found in it later that evening while doing his homework, a small piece of paper with the drawing of a fox on it</em>.)</p><p>It’s the way he fails to block a spike on court, and suddenly, there’s Akagi, making up for his mistakes as if it’s no big deal.</p><p>It’s the way he looked at him the first time he’s asked Ren to pat his head –</p><p>(<em>like he was someone special to Akagi, like his touch was the only one he really craved, like he needed him to touch him, in order to make him feel better after a long, exhausting day of school, tests and practise</em>.)</p><p>One day – somewhere between their first and their second month together – Aran had approached Ren after practise and asked him if he found it concerning. The swiping, and the foxy grins, and all the other stuff. But, to his own surprise, Ren couldn’t say it concerned him too much. Yes, it had been weird at first, but somehow, it was just … Akagi. He didn’t mind, if the thing he got in return was this sharp grin he came to like.</p><p>Even though Kita had suddenly appeared beside them out of nowhere, stating he didn’t mind Akagi being like this, as long as he returned whatever he took away, it was in this exact moment that Ren realised he felt different for Akagi than the others.</p><p>There was –</p><p>
  <em>something.</em>
</p><p>He didn’t care to think much of it, then.</p><p>But now – now it’s … different.</p><p>Even though he doesn’t know what changed his mind, but he can’t stop thinking about it. About <em>him</em>.</p><p><em>I’m just worried</em>, he tells himself when the next day, Akagi’s voice is a little hoarser than usual, and he sneezes more often.</p><p><em>I just feel a little bit protective, is all,</em> he tries to convince himself, when Akagi approaches him after practice, looking up to him with big eyes and still-wet hair and silently asking him to pat his head, again. As if he is silently begging him to make up.</p><p><em>Maybe it’s because he’s so tiny</em>, <em>of course I feel protective</em>, he muses. Akagi is only 162cm tall, while Ren is way past the 180cm, but he doesn’t point it out. He tries to avoid getting bitten by him.</p><p>“I apologised to Aran”, Akagi mutters when Ren just looks at him without making a move to pat his head. “I promised to not bite him again.”</p><p>Instead of saying anything, Ren just sighs. He points towards the bench and Akagi, confused but trusting, sits down.</p><p>When Ren pulls out his blow dryer, plugs it in and sits behind Akagi, a surprised sound escapes his throat. And as soon as Ren starts blow drying his hair, with his long fingers softly stroking through silken strands of almost black hair, he feels Akagi’s body vibrating with content pleasure.</p><p>Three months.</p><p>It has only been three months, yet he feels like all he ever wanted was to feel Akagi Michinari’s body close to his.</p><p>The thought makes him hesitate for a second. Akagi, unaware of Ren’s struggle and too lost in his bliss, pushes his head up into Ren’s palm and melts into the touch.</p><p>Ren’s breath hitches, his heart skips a beat.</p><p>He stops the blow dryer, and slowly pulls away his hand.</p><p>When Akagi turns around to look at him with a look of pure shock on his face, Ren can’t help but chuckle nervously.</p><p>“Ren!! Why did you stop?”</p><p>“Because your hair is dry. You won’t catch a cold now, on your way home.”</p><p>Akagi opens his mouth and stares at him.</p><p>If Ren were to touch him now, maybe he’d get bitten, too.</p><p>“Pfft. Well. Whatever,” Akagi mutters under his breath, and then, with a softer edge around his tone: “Thank you, Ren.”</p><p>“You’re welcome.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>(<em>“You’re too soft, Akagi might take advantage of your kindness if you’re not careful”, Aran says some time after that. And Kita adds: “You’re spoiling him.” But Akagi smiles at him, and that makes it all worth it. Ren doesn’t mind, really</em>.)</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one is for <a href="https://twitter.com/besshouwu">Rin</a>, because Akagi asking Oomimi for head pats while making puppy eyes was her idea.<br/>Thanks for always diving into any kind of rare pair or minor character headcanons with me!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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